Harry Potter and the First Steps
by Archgaull
Summary: ON HIATUS DUE TO CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES. THE STORY MAY BE ABANDONED, OR RESTARTED.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Discoveries and Broken Souls.**

They all sat by the fireplace and waited. The nervousness permeating off everyone filled the air. It was so thick you could probably cut it with a knife and serve it up with hot chocolate at your earliest convenience. No one knew what was going on. All they did know was that Albus Dumbledore had shown up looking ready to murder someone. The anger made them all take a step back. The attention was so drawn to him no one noticed that Poppy Pomfrey had come with him. She wore the same confused and nervous expression as everyone else. She had been awakened – rather rudely she must say – by Albus who quite literally dragged her to the fireplace and floo'd to The Burrow. She simply sat and waited in the kitchen, waiting for Albus to come back.

Suddenly their attention was drawn to the fireplace as it flared up. Albus stepped through, followed by Harry Potter. Everyone at first looked at Albus, but at another glance of Harry everyone had varied reactions of horror, ranging from gasps to screams. He was covered; almost head to toe in blood. They could see he was bleeding from several cuts. Ginny cried out and went to run to him but was restrained by her mother as Pomfrey hurriedly rushed Harry into the living room, already casting charms for privacy and transfiguring a chair into a bed. That was the last they saw of the two of them for several minutes.

Finally, Poppy came out, managing to look pale and angry at the same time. This was the first time she had ever wanted to murder someone in cold blood, but she was ready.

"Mr. Potter will not be waking for at least a week. Someone has taken a belt and repeatedly beaten him with it until he was inches from death. Several bones in his face were broken and two ribs have caved in. He also was not responding to any stimulus while he was awake, including pain."

With that, she shot a look of pure loathing at Albus.

"If those damned muggles are the ones responsible for this, there will be hell to pay." With that, she left.

Everyone sat in stunned silence, except for Ginny who was quietly weeping. She walked into the room, and finally got a good look at Harry. He was lying on a hospital bed, and the blood was off him. His face looked like one giant bruise, and from what parts of his face and chest she could see, he was covered in bruises and cuts. Finally she sat down in a chair by his bedside and pulled his hand into hers.

Meanwhile, Albus was trying to quell the storm of rage coming from the rest of the Weasleys, including Ron, Fred and George, Molly, Arthur, and Bill, who happened to be taking a vacation to spend time with his family.

"I got a firecall from Arabella Figg, who was walking by the Dursley house when she heard screams. I got there in time to find an unconscious Harry lying on the ground while Vernon was standing over him, beating him with a belt. Dudley was also kicking Harry viciously. I stunned the entire family, and got Pomfrey over here as soon as possible." He explained.

To say the family was in an uproar would be like saying a tidal wave is a ripple of water. Ron looked like he was trying his best to apparate to the Dursleys, Bill was actually starting to, and Fred and George were already in a corner, talking quietly to themselves and nodding their heads, no doubt plotting the revenge that would happen soon. Dumbledore managed to cast an Anti-Apparition spell just in time to stop Bill.

"We must proceed cautiously. Our enemies will no doubt use this to stage an attack on Harry. Arthur, please get Ms. Tonks, Mr. Shacklebolt, Mr. Moody, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Snape, and go to Hogwarts. There you will find a house elf by the name of Dobby in the kitchens. Bring him at once. I will be casting wards to prepare this place for the next coming week. I am assuming no one has any objections to Harry staying here for the foreseeable future?"

No one said anything. Arthur had already gone. With a sigh, Albus stepped outside and began working on making the house as impregnable as possible.

Everyone stood there, shocked. Finally, Molly was the one to break the silence.

"How could we have missed it?" She asked no one in particular. "We all knew he didn't enjoy his time with the Dursleys. When I heard Ron, Fred and George had taken Harry and had had to rip iron bars off the window to get him, I thought they were lying. He's always been so small, but who could have thought…" She left the thought fade off.

She went into the living room, and everyone else followed, trying to crowd themselves into the room to see him. They all gasped as they saw how badly he had been beaten. Again, Bill tried to apparate to the house to retaliate, but the Anti-Apparation wards were still in effect. Ginny just sat there, staring at him and ignoring everything that was occurring.

A thud was heard. Bill went out to find Tonks standing there, confusion etched plainly on her face.

He just looked at her, and immediately she knew something was wrong. The joking, cheerful face she had seen Bill wear was gone, in its place was a mixture of sadness and anger. He said nothing, just pointed at the doorway leading to the living room as the other Weasleys filled out, excluding Ginny. Tonks was visibly scared, fearing the worse as she stepped in the room. The worse was better than what she saw. She saw Harry, lying there, obviously beaten. He wasn't moving, and barely looked to be breathing. Ginny sat beside him, tears still in her eyes. Without a word Tonks walked over and pulled her into a hug. She knew Ginny loved Harry. She pulled the covers off Harry and pulled his clothes off, leaving only a tiny bit to cover his privates. She was no healer, but she had to see the extent of what he had suffered.

Almost every inch of Harry was either cut, bruised, or broken. She would spare Harry the loss of dignity by checking his privates for wounds, but she knew that no inch of him had been spared. She had seen acts of torture, murders, and gore beyond belief but to think that someone could do this to a boy, not even of age yet was reprehensible. At that moment, murder was the one thing on her mind. She had not known Harry closely, but she respected him immensely. He was forced into a war that left him an orphan, attempts had been made on his life, and he had seen more death than the average wizard saw in a lifetime, and he kept a relatively care-free attitude towards life. The fact that anyone could do this to such a remarkable person was enough to make her want to kill, but add to the fact he was just a boy and she was ready of murder. But she knew that would help nothing, so she strode purposefully outside, found an empty lot and cast every curse she could possibly think of, screaming her anger out and pouring every ounce of magic she had into them. The entire tirade of spells took almost 30 minutes, and she could barely blink at the end of it, but it helped.

She went back to see Kingsley, Remus, and Snape all sitting in the kitchen. Even Snape's normally cool attitude was gone, replaced by a paleness of anger, disgust, and sadness. He looked as if he had just emptied his stomach, and her thoughts were confirmed when he proceeded to do so again into a bucket in front of him. She said nothing, just walked to Remus and held him.

He didn't even react, he stood there. Like Severus, he had a pale skin color. She knew what he was thinking, and she pulled them outside.

"Listen to me; this is not your fault!" She said forcefully. Finally, he reacted.

"How can it not be?" He asked. "I am his godfather's best friend. Sirius hinted that something may have been happening and asked me to check, but I thought it was him just being a parent. I was going to go sometime next week. I barely stopped by to check the first time. All I did was look at the bloody house, and inside, he was being beaten!" By this point, he was screaming his words out.

Tonks did not take it personally. She knew he was beyond angry, just like she had been a few minutes earlier. She pointed at the spot where she had unleashed her rage, and pushed him towards it.

"Take a walk, go cool off. Do what you need to do, but Harry needs you the calm and collected man he has known for the past two years."

Remus recognized the truth in her words, and started walking in that direction. Tonks went back inside and found Moody sitting there. She could never read her mentor, but even he looked a little shocked.

They all sat around, not doing anything, listening to the occasional bangs coming from upstairs. Since Molly did not react, no one freaked out but Tonks decided to investigate. She found the source of the sound, and went into a room completely filled with laboratory equipment. Fred and George stood there, furiously stirring a potion while one another was dumping ingredients into the cauldron. Another explosion occurred, and she watched as neither reacted to the explosion that lit the ends of their hair on fire. She finally understood why where almost all of the male Weasleys had longer hair, theirs was cropped closer.

After watching this spectacle for 10 minutes and three explosions later, they finally stopped stirring. Tonks respected the rate at which they had kept stirring; their muscles were probably cramped beyond belief. She watched as they slowly took a box full of soft rubber balls and dropped them all into the cauldron. For once, the cheery expressions of the twins were gone, replaced with dual expressions of hardness. They ignored her, except to conjure a chair for her, which she took. After another 10 minutes of silence, the cauldron started bubbling. The twins donned protective gloves, and reached their hands into the cauldron. They conjured another box, this one made of steel, and starting dumping the balls in there, putting 20 of them in there.

Finally they sealed the box and set it down, getting rid of the gloves.

Both of them looked extremely tired, and she pushes them over to a bed, concerned for their safety.

She was right, as soon as she got them there, their legs gave out and they landed on the bed, both snoring softly.

She left the room and went back downstairs. It seemed everyone was having a bit of an argument as to what to do to the muggles.

"We can't just let them go for this!" Bill shouted "There has to be punishment."

"Well we can't just kill them either" Remus countered.

Tonks suddenly came up with an idea that would give the twins their chance to use whatever they made without getting them in trouble.

"Why don't we let the twins take care of it? We can have them make something powerful, maybe even permanent and have them set it on the bastards who did this."

Everyone agreed, including Molly which surprised Tonks. She had expected an argument from her.

A couple of hours pass by in relative silence. The twins had gone back into their room as soon as they got their orders. She looked around the house, and felt someone was missing. Finally she remembered as someone mentioned it.

"Who's going to tell Hermione?"

Tonks volunteered to go and pick her up.

She got Hermione's address and apparated to a wizard's inn close to it. She walked the rest of the way, quickly coming to a conclusion just as she arrived at the house.

She knocked on the door and noticed her hands were shaking. She was not looking forward to this conversation.

A small, bushy haired Hermione opened the door, rubbing tiredness and fatigue out of her eyes. It occurred to Tonks that it was only 7 in the morning.

"Hermione, its Tonks. We need to talk."

Hermione allowed her to step inside.

Hermione just waited.

"It's Harry. He's been hurt badly, and it's not good. Everyone is contemplating what to do, but he needs friends there."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth that Hermione had ran up stairs, Tonks could here muffled words being spoken, and then the witch came down with a trunk in hand. It occurred to Tonks that her trunk had already been packed, despite being months away from Hogwarts.

They stepped out and Tonks brought them around to a dark alleyway, and she Side-Along Apparated Hermione with her back to the burrow.

Hermione quickly dropped her trunk in a corner and Tonks pointed her to which door.

Hermione disappeared in there, and nothing could be heard for several minutes. Tonks went in to find both Ginny and Hermione curled up on either side of Harry, sandwiching him in place. If he had not been so hurt, she would have made jokes, but she knew that their magic could help him heal.

Tonks sighed and closed the door, wondering what was going to happen over the next couple of days.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Retaliation**

The Twins left as soon as they could, leaving everyone else waiting around.

Everyone has been trying to keep busy, doing pointless tasks that accomplish nothing except keep their minds off of Harry. There are so many wards on the house it would take months for Voldemort to break through.

At 1 in the morning, the twins arrive back. Before they go straight into their room and collapse on the bed, they warn everyone to watch the muggle newspapers. Both of them have some bruises, and George has a cut along his neck.

No one says anything, and the house is quiet until the morning. They get the newspaper and nearly blow up at the headline.

"**Family of three convicted of animal rampage that kills four**_."_

"_As the zoo collapsed into chaos as all the animals were released, three figures were seen hurrying from the zoo. They had not bothered to hide their identities, and local police quickly picked them up as Animal Control located and rounded up the escaped animals. Unfortunately it seemed too late as four men were found dead at the scene of a bear that had escaped. The bear had torn them apart, leaving each to die. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley were seen being escorted inside the police building. As we tried to get an interview, this was shouted out for the elder Dursley. 'We let out the animals, and we're glad those four freaks were killed. I hope the rest of them die a just as horrible death.'_

_No more is coming at this time, but the local population is calling for the death penalty of four respected community members. It seems a likely event, and if not each will receive life sentences."_

Molly exploded at the twins as they entered.

"How could you kill three innocent people? We wanted revenge, but this goes too far. I should-"

Fred cuts her off.

"They were not innocent. We were going to let the animals go and have the Dursleys sued when we heard screams. Those three freaks were attacking and raping a young girl. We were a little too explosive with our spells, and they died. We took the opportunity.'

Molly is compelled into silence. Even she cannot yell at the twins for killing when they did it to protect another.

Another couple days passed by in relative silence, broken only by the odd congratulations to the twins.

Finally, Tonks was up late one night when she heard a struggle in the living room. She ran in to find Harry awake and struggling, trying his best to get out. Tonks could see cuts opening back up, and she did the only thing she thought was right.

"Stupefy!" She shouted, pointing her wand at Harry. She immediately went to the fireplace and called Poppy. Seconds later, Poppy was there, running in to the living room. Tonks followed and saw that she had revived Potter and was giving him potions. After a while, he calmed down, but Tonks noticed something.

His eyes never showed an emotion. The entire time, he laid still, not reacting as he was poked and prodded.

She spent the next couple of hours talking to people, trying to understand the problem he was facing.

She saw Harry again, and was shocked by what she saw. Gone was the look of fear or sadness from his eyes. In fact, every emotion was gone from his face. He said nothing, and didn't even acknowledge other people. She knew he would never act this cool towards any of them, but even to Hermione and Ginny he didn't acknowledge. He wasn't being mean. He wasn't being anything.

Finally he started joining them for breakfast, but he never talked. Hermione had cornered him several times, but he never said anything.

On the third day after he woke up, the house was rocked with an explosion. Then another, and another. Bellatrix's voice could be heard over it all.

"We hear little Potty's having a problem. We figured we'd heal him in our special way." Her cackle was easily noticeable over another explosion.

Everyone stayed inside on Dumbledore's orders. Throughout the entire time, Harry had never stopped eating breakfast. Through the chaos, Tonks saw Harry stand up and go towards the door. He wasn't hurrying; in fact he was walking slowly. Remus grabbed her as he opened the door and a hex flew by her ear, missing her by inches. He didn't react, just turned and slowly closed the door.

"Look, wee little Potty is a little-" Her words were cut off by a massive explosion. The door opened, and Harry walked in with blood splattered all over his chest. She grabbed him and pushed him towards the living room, casting a cutting curse to get the clothes off him and check his wound, but there was none. She checked him in several places, and finally satisfied that he wasn't hurt, she let him leave. Arthur was in the kitchen, looking pale, trying to keep everyone from the windows. Tonks went outside, and he went to say something, but simply shook his head and let her go.

Outside was carnage. Several craters were in the ground, but the worst was a crater almost 10 feet deep and 30 feet around. Several body parts were littered around it, and with a look of disgust she found the head of Bellatrix, her face contorted in the beginnings of pain. After counting, she had found 20 legs, 40 arms, a couple of heads, and one burned chest cavity.

She was shocked, not only for the power displayed, but the fact that Harry had done this. Before, he had always been appalled by killing. She had just seen him kill at the least 20 people. Dumbledore was there, and he grabbed Harry and apparated away.

Arthur was cleaning up the mess as best as he could. There was just so much.

Everyone passed out. The pace of the moment was tiring. Beds were conjured and slept on.

At night, Albus walked into the room quietly. Tonks noticed Harry was not with him, but said nothing. The headmaster did not know she was awake, and he grabbed Arthur and pulled him into the kitchen shutting the door. Tonks put her ear against it.

"We have a problem with Harry." Albus started.

"After I took him, I reviewed his actions in a pensieve. He cast the spell that killed Bellatrix and the other death eaters. I won't go into detail, but he has yet to have a reaction to anything that is said, or anything he has done. Have you noticed something like this?"

"Yes" Arthur replied "He hasn't shown any emotion since he woke up. I'm worried about him Albus. He used to be so nice and respectful, but now he shows no emotion, and to my knowledge, he feels no emotion."

Albus sighed.

"I thought so. I sent him to St. Mungo's to see what they can do. But I have never seen something like this."

"Hopefully we can do something for him." Arthur said.

Tonks had just enough time to scramble into her previous position just before the door was opened and Albus stepped out.

She sat there in a shock. Slowly, she drifted off into a sleep haunted by nightmares of uncaring people.

Hermione woke up. She had fallen asleep after the battle, and Harry had been whisked away. She still had no idea what to do. Her mind was racing, trying to find some reason that Harry would be acting like this. She took no slight to it, she knew he hasn't shown emotion to anyone, even in private, so she knew he wasn't acting this way towards just her.

She had no idea what was wrong, but at the same time, the way Harry was acting seemed oddly familiar.

She ignored what was going on around her, thinking, searching her brain for why this was so damned familiar to her. She thought of every movie, every book, and every song she had ever seen or heard. She tried to recall every moment that ever happen, and for several hours she continued to search.

For everyone else's credit, no one disturbed her. They could practically see her mind racing, working out this problem.

Finally, after almost 12 hours of no movement, she sat bolt straight up.

"I've got it!" She yelled.

Everyone looked at her.

"Tonks, I need you to get me to St. Mungo's right away."

Tonks grabbed her and they rushed to the fireplace, flooing immediately to St. Mungo's.

"I need to speak with Harry Potter's chief healer immediately. It's extremely important." Tonks said.

The secretary did not question it at all, just called a man over. He seemed to be extremely tired, showing testament to how dedicated the healers are, sometimes going for days without sleep, working tirelessly to keep someone they didn't even know alive.

"My name is James, can I help you?" He asked, his voice deep.

Hermione jumped in before Tonks could respond.

"I believe I know what is wrong with Harry, can we speak with you in private?"

James nodded and they walked into an office. Hermione began speaking without prompt.

"I am a muggleborn, which is how I know what is affecting him. The way he has been acting lately, without emotion, is insanely weird for him."

The healer nodded. He had spent hours performing diagnostic charms, trying to find why this young boy felt nothing.

"But at the same time, it reminded me of something. I spent all day thinking of why his behavior was so familiar, and it finally hit me. My grandfather had been a soldier in the Vietnam War, and it was a horrible, bloody war. It was quite common for the soldiers returning to come down with something muggles call 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,' or PTSD for short. It occurs after a traumatic event, and it causes symptoms. Not all the symptoms are the same, but they include Loss of emotion, nightmares, flashbacks to the traumatic event, and the like."

The healer nodded, seeing where she was going with this.

"Not much flat out war happens in the magical world, especially not recently. Voldemort's rise to power is extremely bloody, but there just weren't many events major enough to cause PTSD. I think that may be why no one thought of it, because no one has ever seen any magical being have this."

The healer nodded again.

"I believe you are right, but I will call my friend. He is muggle born, and still immersed in the muggle world. He will be able to get someone who can confirm the disorder, and if you are right, he can get your friend the treatment he needs."

Hermione let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding. For the first time in hours, she realized she was starving, had to go to the bathroom, and was dead tired.

She looked at Tonks.

"Can we go get something to eat? I'm starving."

Tonks nodded, as she had already been expecting this. She didn't think Hermione knew she had been up for almost 16 hours and had not moved a muscle in that entire time.

They walked to the Leaky Cauldron and Tonks orders some food while Hermione rushes to the bathroom.

Tonks just chuckles and a minute later a much better looking Hermione arrives just in time for the food to get there. Hermione digs in, but Tonks doesn't feel like eating and ignores her meal.

Finally they arrive back at The Burrow. Tonks goes to brief the others while Hermione heads straight for the beds and collapses in one.

It has been three days since Hermione figured out the problem No one has heard a word from St. Mungo's, and all Albus would say is the problem was "being dealt with." Everyone was starting to get extremely angry.

A week has passed. Moody and Tonks were forced to leave, being called back to their jobs. Remus, Snape, and Shacklebolt still remained. It was discovered that Kingsley had not taken time off in years, so he had almost 5 months of vacation time. He was using it to protect the Weasley's and Harry in case of another attack.

After 3 more days have passed, Remus corners Snape.

"Can I ask you a question?" Remus says. Snape just looks at him before nodding.

"Why are you still here? I appreciate your presence, but you don't particularly love Harry, or like him in any way."

Snape nodded again.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask me that. The truth is, I feel guilty. My reasons for disliking Harry were because of his father, which you understand." Remus nodded while Snape continued. "I also hated him for a different reason. I always thought of Harry as some kind of spoiled little brat, which I have made no secret of. I was told that his Aunt and Uncle had taken him in, and that they were fairly well off, which only confirmed what I thought of him. For the years he has been at Hogwarts, I have treated him horribly, because I was scared. I was scared that he was going to grow up spoiled, and the second he stepped into the same room as Voldemort he would be killed simply because he was unprepared, dooming the rest of us. I had no idea that his…" Snape paused here and sneered. "Relatives were treating him like this. My father was not a kind man, and he occasionally beat me. But what happened to me was nothing compared to the damage done to Harry, and it looked like it had occurred before."

Remus looked at him shocked.

"How can you tell?" He asked.

"Next time he is here, look at his skin carefully. Look past the bruises and the cuts. There are several scars that can not be explained by what has happened to him at Hogwarts, or in any of his previous encounters. I've never noticed it before because I all but ignored him, but now that I look for it, I can not see anything but a young boy who has been beaten severely."

Remus looked dead shocked, but nodded.

"Thank you for being honest."

"Thank you for not treating me with the contempt I deserve." Snape replied.

It has been two weeks since anyone has last seen Harry.

Finally, the door opens. Everyone is drawn to it; there have been no visitors since Harry disappeared.

Harry steps through the door, and the first thing everyone notices is that he's smiling.

Hermione is the first to recover.

"Harry!" She shouts, tackling him into a full hug.

Soon Ginny appears and runs into him, kissing him so passionately it surprises everyone there. Ron runs and pulls him into a hug.

"Blimey mate, it's been too long. Where've you been?"

Soon everyone is surrounding him, asking questions.

Harry holds up his hand, laughing.

"Can I at least set my stuff down before I get interrogated?"

Everyone blushes, and lets him put his stuff down before corralling him to the table.

He starts.

"I can't really explain why I was the way I was. I don't even know. It just felt like everything that should be important, wasn't. Nothing affected me. And then that attack happened, and even then, I wasn't bothered. I just went out there, and next thing I remember Dumbledore is rushing me out the door. We got to his office and he took the pensieve memory and watched it. Then he just grabs me and we're in St. Mungo's. The healers took me from there, and they were casting charms on me all night, then just suddenly one of them apparates away. About 10 minutes later, he's back, and he takes me to some guys house. The guy examined me for a few minutes, then gives him a number to call."

Harry pauses to take a drink.

"I got taken to an office, and a man there starts asking me all sorts of questions. How was I, how was my childhood, stuff like that. After that we left, and I was given a room at the healer's house. Every day, I went back to the office and the man was still asking me questions. Then just one day he up and asks me what happened. I started talking, and it helped. So I talked more, I told him everything. The basilisk, the horrorcrux, the sorcerers stone, everything. At the end of it, I could feel stuff again. He gave me some pills to take, and told me I should get better eventually."

Hermione walked over to him, and hugged him hard. He noticed she had tears in her eyes, and he hugged her back. Ginny came over and hugged them both. The rest filed out, not wanting to interrupt what was obviously a private moment.

They stayed like that for some while, and finally Harry broke the silence.

"Does this change anything?"

The question hung in the air.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: School and other pressures is getting to me, and my uploading rate will be much slower, maybe one chapter per 3 or 4 days.**

**Chapter 3 – The First Steps**

The question hung in the air, but no one answered it, content to just hold each other, feeling, for the first time in years, that things were right in life.

Finally and with a sigh of disappointment, they break apart. Hermione goes off into another part of the house, leaving Harry and Ginny alone.

"You know we need to talk." She said. Harry simply nodded.

"We need to talk about us. And we need to talk about Hermione."

Harry nodded again.

"When I saw you, when Dumbledore first brought you in, I thought you were dying. I couldn't stop crying, and then Pomfrey took you into the room. I was convinced you were dead. No one would let me go in, I thought you had died and they were trying to stop me from seeing your body. And then she came out and said you would live, I was so happy. But then you were laying there. It didn't even look like you were breathing. You had cuts and bruises, your bones were broken. They were talking about internal bleeding. I thought they had only delayed the inevitable, and that by night time, you wouldn't be here anymore. But you lived, and it was one of the happiest moments in my life, seeing you still breathing after 12 hours. I could barely think I was so delirious with happiness."

"And then Hermione came in. Tonks had went and got her, and brought her back here. She didn't say anything, just laid down beside you and cuddled up to you. I was about to freak out at her until I saw her face. She looked like she just found out everyone she ever knew had been tortured and killed. I couldn't yell at her, not when she looked like that. She was crying, and the next thing I knew, she was spilling her guts. She admitted she had been in love with you since the first year, when you were in the dungeon. She told me the entire story."

Harry stood there, shocked. Never could he have imagined she loved him. She was so good looking, and smart. He was so… ordinary. What would she want with him? He had no idea what to think.

"Then I cuddled up on the other side of you. I had to think about what she said. It was obvious what she said was true, and she looked like she was just waiting for me to kick her out. But I couldn't do that. She really does love you. She would probably do anything for you."

Harry's head was swimming, and for a few seconds he thought he was going to pass out. But he managed to stay awake.

"Harry, I love you just as much. I can't live without you."

Harry couldn't think. He was overwhelmed. Two of the best looking witches in ages had admitted that they loved him.

"What should we do?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. I don't want to force you to make a choice between us. I'll give you time to think."

"Thank you" He said, relief showing plainly on his face.

Ginny left, and Harry was left sitting there, consumed in his own thoughts. Finally, people started shuffling in for dinner.

"It's good to see you up and about Harry." Said a voice from behind him.

Harry turned around and saw to his surprised the adult he trusted most in this world.

"Moony!" He shouted, and hugged the man vigorously

"Good to see you Mini-Prongs." He said, laughing.

Harry laughed as well.

Harry smiled as the rest of the group came in. He smiled on the outside, but on the inside he was happier than could be expressed in any kind of words.

People had been worried about him. Never before had so many people turned up just to make sure he was okay.

Harry hugged all of them. He gave both Ginny and Hermione kisses, smiling at the shocked expressions on everyone else.

The next hour was spent eating, and the conversation was light, and quite excited.

Harry could easily say that the meal he had just enjoyed was the best in his life.

Finally it was time for bed. He hugged everyone goodbye, since they had to get back to their lives now that he was awake and fine. Surprisingly, Snape was there, and shook his hand. He even managed to get out a few words of appreciation that Harry was awake before leaving. Harry was shocked at that.

Finally everyone was gone, leaving Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and the rest of the Weasley's there. Harry grabbed Hermione and took her outside under the starry night.

"Hermione, I heard about what you said while I was unconscious."

Hermione blushed.

"Harry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cause stress between you and Ginny. In fact, I should probably leave." She turned to walk away.

"No!" Harry shouted. "No, please stay. Hermione, I feel the same way about you."

Hermione was shocked, to say at the least. The best she had hoped for was that they would still be friends, and now he was admitting the feeling was reciprocated.

"Hermione, I love you to death. I would do anything for you if you asked me. But I can't turn Ginny away so suddenly. Her family has done so much for me."

Hermione nodded, her head hung down. She assumed he would leave her now.

"God Damn It!" He suddenly shouted. "Why the fuck is it every time something good happens, I have to make a damned decision that will hurt someone else."

Hermione was shocked. She had never heard her friend curse, but she understood the reasons.

"Harry. I'm… I'm not opposed to…." Hermione blushed. She couldn't get the words out. She knew if she didn't say it now, she never would.

"." The words came out so fast, Harry barely heard them. Then what she said really hit him, and he gaped at her, his mouth so wide open she was almost certain he had dislocated his jaw.

She was blushing so deeply now that she was sure she was an animagus and her form was a tomato.

Harry walked up to her.

"Are you sure?"

She just nodded.

Harry pushed himself in her arms, passionately kissing her. He now assumed he was the luckiest person in the universe. He was also waiting for himself to wake up and realize that it had all been some dream. He pinched himself, but nothing happened.

Harry kissed her again, and pulled her hand into his.

"Hermione, I love you."

She smiled, tears of joy coming to her eyes.

"I love you too, Harry."

They walked hand in hand back to The Burrow, smiling as they went.

Before they got to the door, Hermione turned to him.

"Harry, I want to talk to Ginny about this. Can you go up to the room?"

Harry nodded and grabbed the stuff he had not brought up from earlier, bringing it with him up the stairs.

He kicked off his shoes, lying on the bed. It had been an exciting day, to say the least. He laid on the bed, wondering what he was going to do. He realized he was extremely tired; the excitement had taken a lot out of him after weeks of no physical exercise. Soo enough, he was in dreamland, having a very fun dream where he was getting revenge on Malfoy for everything he had been subject to from that boy.

He awoke to someone rubbing him gently. It really didn't wake him up until he realized where they were rubbing him. They were dangerously close to his waist, and he wasn't sure if it was by accident or on purpose.

He opened his eyes and saw Hermione and Ginny sitting beside him on the bed. He desperately wanted to keep silent and see what they would do, but he knew that was wrong.

Trying to fight off a laugh, he said:

"Having fun ladies?"

Both looked like they jumped a foot in the air, and he started laughing.

He knew this night was going to be interesting, to say the least.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N

It seems that the site decided to glitch in my third chapter, and I can see where it might cause some confusion. In the scene where Harry and Hermione are talking, she is supposed to say she isn't opposed to sharing. The site decided to change that to a single period, and it hasn't fixed itself no matter how I edit, so hopefully that clarifies, also quite a bit of my formatting is being destroyed.

**Chapter 4 – Love, Life, and Hilarious Pranks.**

Harry was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. They were both looking as if they wanted to kill him, but it was worth it. Finally they looked at each other and smiled.

"So you think you're funny Harry Potter. Now it's our turn." Hermione says, and with matching evil smiles they jump on him, tickling him. Again he's laughing, but this time against his will as they continue to torture him. Hermione seems to have a particularly evil gleam in her eye as she pulls out her wand a mutters something, and suddenly Harry finds his and legs tied, and him lying in a spread eagle position.

Hermione and Ginny both start giggling.

"Now that he is completely at our command, how should we torture him?" Ginny asks Hermione.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe we should get naked and go down on each other." She replies.

Harry nearly jumps out of his skin and silently he prays for this incredibly beautiful thing to happen. He does not notice Hermione wink at Ginny.

"I think that's a great idea." Ginny replies and she slowly wraps her arms around Hermione.

At this point Harry starts looking at his body, trying to see if he was killed and sent to heaven.

Harry can feel his pants being strained to the point of ripping as a certain body part of his rises to the occasion.

Hermione slowly leans her head in towards Ginny and closes her eyes. Ginny starts to lean towards her too, they are so close….

"Boo!" They both shout out at the same time, scaring the crap out of Harry.

Harry just pitifully groans, silently willing them to continue. They just laugh.

"It seems Harry is a little… excited." Ginny notes, looking at Harry's waist.

Hermione looks and smiles.

"That looks a little uncomfortable. Maybe we should help him out."

Suddenly a voice is heard from the doorway.

"Maybe you should learn to lock your door, and cast a few wards."

All three of them flinch, and turn to see Tonks standing there, grinning like an idiot.

"Although I must say, you two are positively evil. I most definitely approve."

With that, she walks out the door.

Hermione looks like she wants to die of embarrassment, Ginny is blushing madly, and Harry just wishes they would get back to their previous train of thought.

Unfortunately that won't happen tonight as the ropes are released, letting him move his hands and arms.

He looks at them.

"You may have gotten me tonight. "He pauses as they both smile and laugh. "But I will get you back, rest assured." Both gulp in fright as they see his evil smile, and he walks out.

Hermione quite passionately says a word she has never said before, and Ginny nods her head in agreement.

They don't see him for the rest of the night, and by morning both are on their toes, waiting for anything to happen.

Both are sticking close to each other as they go down the stairs to see Harry sitting at the table, with a breakfast for three set out. They look at him suspiciously.

"Hey beautiful, I just wanted to say great job on the prank. I even made you breakfast for how good it was."

They don't respond, just look at him suspiciously.

They both cast detection spells on the food, but it comes up clean, so they start eating it slowly. There is no conversation; they are too focused on everything around them.

Harry takes his plates to the sink and washes them, then heads up.

"I think I'm going to catch some more sleep. I'm still a little tired. Don't come up and torture me" Harry says with a grin, before walking up the stairs and going to his room.

Hermione and Ginny look at each other.

"We have to find what he's planning" They say simultaneously.

They follow up the stairs slowly, and when they get near his room, they suddenly find themselves tied up in ropes, with their arms pinned to their sides.

Harry appears from behind him.

"What's up girls? Those look a little inconvenient; let's get you to my room.

With that he picks them both up and starts carrying them to his room. When he gets there he casts several privacy spells.

"Hey! Look what I found in my pocket!" Harry exclaims before holding up a feather. Hermione swears under her breath, Harry is about to get payback and she knows it.

Harry starts to take off both of their socks and shoes.

"No use in these, we're going to be here for a while." He smiles playfully again, and with a flick of his wand, the ropes separate and know they are both tied like he was the night earlier.

**SEX SCENE DESCRIPTIVE**

He takes the feather and walks towards Hermione, lightly dragging the feather along her body as he walks up. She finds the sensation rather pleasant. He leans down and kisses her neck softly, and she moans softly in pleasure. She wonders where he got his skills while he does the same thing to Ginny.

He starts tickling Ginny with the feather, and she can't help but laugh and tries to squirm away, but there is no give in the ropes. He starts rubbing Hermione's leg with one hand while he's tickling Ginny, and the feeling is quite pleasant. She wishes he would rub somewhere a little higher up.

"Hmm… Maybe I should take off your clothes to torture you better." Harry says.

They look at each other. Ginny has a look of embarrassment, and Hermione eagerly hopes he will do just that.

"And where should I start? Maybe shirts would be a good place to start." With that, he took off his shirt.

Hermione could still see the cuts and bruises on his chest and back, but he seems to be ignoring it, so she chooses to do the same. She also noticed Harry seems to be quite defined.

He walks up to her.

"Should I start with you? I bet you wish you shirt was off right now."

Hermione nodded eagerly.

He slowly starts taking off her shirt, making sure his hands make contact with every part of her chest. She moans softly when his hands glaze over her breasts. She tries to stick her chest out to get him to do it again, and he complies, softly cupping her breasts.

"Yes…" Hermione's moan is one of pleasure, and one of anticipation for what is coming.

Harry smiles and starts to slowly suck on her neck, and she moans again.

"Please…"

Harry smiles again.

"Please what Hermione? You should be more specific"

"Please Harry… please take my clothes off and use me..."

Harry nods and unclasps her bra, letting her breasts free from their confinement. He's decided he loves her nipples, and proceeds to show just how much by kissing, nibbling, and sucking on them.

At this point Hermione is moaning louder, and suddenly Harry stops.

He reaches around her waist and firmly grasps her butt, rubbing it and pinching alternately, before taking off her pants, leaving her in just her panties.

Hermione is moaning softly, and her wetness is clear to see, she is practically dripping through her panties.

"Harry… take me…"

"Uh… no. I think its Ginny's turn."

Suddenly the door was being pounded on. In once flick of his wand, they were all dressed, and no one looked like they had been doing untoward. The door was opened and Remus was standing there.

"What's up Moony?"

"We need to talk pup, can you ladies go somewhere private?" Remus asked.

Hermione and Ginny walk out, and Moony casts a few quick skills.

"Pup, it's about a will left by Sirius."

Harry looks down, saddened by the memory of Sirius.

"We need to get to Gringott's ASAP for the will to still be in effect, and I want just you and I to be there. It will be an extremely private moment, and Sirius will tell you some things that will shake your view of the world. It needs to be private, and Padfoot asked me to be there when it happened."

Harry just nods, and they walk down to the fireplace, ignoring everyone else.

"Diagon Alley" He says, and they are off.

They walk to Gringotts, where they see Griphook waiting.

"Hello Griphook, how are you?" Harry asks.

Griphook is surprised. Generally wizards treat sub-human species like shit, and politeness is never used.

"I am fine Mr. Potter. Would you like to proceed with the execution of one Sirius Black's will?" He asks.

Harry nods, and they proceed to a room that is very dark, with no windows, and only one door.

A goblin speaks up, hidden somewhere in the room.

"This message was left by one Sirius Black, to be given to Harry James Potter, and Remus John Lupin, to be read on the execution of his will."

"_Moony and Mini-Prongs, if you are hearing this, I am dead. I can assure you both that if I am, I went down fighting, and am damn proud to do so. If one of you were with me, then my dying moments were happy. I want you both to be happy for me. My life, as you know, wasn't the happiest. If I am dead, I am finally with Prongs and Lilly, and I can be with my friends. Harry, I need to tell you some things. _

_First off, remember you are your own man. No matter what Albus says, you are your own man. You can choose to fight, or you can choose to run. But it will always be your choice. _

_Secondly, do not care what other people think. I know you are scared of going dark, but it will never happen. If you have to personally kill every death eater, do it. You must not be afraid to kill, because those fighting you will kill you without a second thought._

_Thirdly, be careful of your friends. You must always remember that some people will do anything for cash if they are poor. Hermione you have nothing to fear, she would stand by your side against everything. _

_I know this will come as a shock, and you might even hate me for it, but it must be said. Ron and Ginny are both leeching off you for money. Everyone can see it, but no one wants to say anything. Put them through a test, test their loyalty, but be careful. Once a man does one thing for money, he will do anything for money. Always remember that._

_And finally, remember, I will always love you."_

Harry was shocked at what had been said, and he could feel the tears threatening to overwhelm him. He had always known about Ron and Ginny, but he had ignored it. They were the first ones to treat him fairly.

"And now for the execution of the will.

Harry James Potter receives: 12 Grimmauld place, 2 million galleons, and emancipation.

Hermione Jane Granger receives: Access to the Black library, and 500 thousand galleons.

Fred and George Weasley receive: 250 thousand galleons each, and the knowledge of the Marauders."

With that, Griphook leads them out back onto Diagon Alley.

"Good day, you will be receiving the emancipation papers soon."

Remus leads Harry to a small pub, and they both sit down.

"Pup, we need to talk. Sirius has asked me to explain some things to you, and I want you to understand them tonight."

Harry nods. "I guess I can try to take in more."

"Harry, I do not like the way Dumbledore has been raising you in fighting. Has he ever taught you ways to kill or maim?"

Harry shakes his head.

"What the hell was that old man thinking? You are unprepared for a real fight; I'm surprised you haven't been killed by now. Probably sacrificing you for 'the greater good'. Come on, we're going to train for real."

Harry nods, and they start on their journey. They walk to the fireplace and take some floo powder.

Remus turns to Harry

"I'm going to go in first. When you step in, say 'Oblivion Anvil' and we will be on our way."

"Alright" Harry says.

Remus walks to the fireplace and steps in.

"Oblivion Anvil" He says, and he is gone.

Harry steps in.

"Oblivion Anvil" He shouts clearly, and he feels the familiar tug of the floo, right before he is deposited in a bright, large area. He see's Remus stood to the side, wand out and ready, so he decides to get his out as well.

"Good" Remus comments. "You took stock of the situation, and took precautions."

"We are going to learn to work in a pair, and later, you will learn to work as your own. For now, lets practice clearing unknown rooms of any dark creatures or wizards."

Harry looks around, and he is in a large room with a door on the far end of the room.

Remus starts up again.

"I will kick the door open, and immediately you step in and check the immediate right of the doorway, along the close wall. I will check the left, and we sweep inwards in an overlapping pattern to ensure nothing is in the room."

Harry nods, and Remus sets himself just in front of the door. Harry takes his position and nods again, and Remus kicks the door open. Harry steps in and looks immediately right. He checks his side of the room, and seeing it empty nods.

"It's clear."

"Good, now, we repeat the process until the entire house is cleared."

They do, and Harry finds himself in a mild fight as a dementor stalks after him when he opens one door.

"Expecto Patronum!" He yells, and his Stag is summoned, but it does not seem to affect the dementor.

"Riddikulus"

The dementor tripped and fell over its feet, its cloak tying around itself and turning a bright pink. Harry starts laughing, and the boggart is dismissed.

"Good." Harry hears from behind him, and he seems Moony.

"Good job, and quick thinking."

Finally, the mansion is cleared.

"Get some sleep Mini-Prongs, tomorrow we train."

Remus advises him.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This chapter came out much quicker than I expected, and the flow was great. Doctors today, school tomorrow. Just another day in life. Feel free to stop by the forum I have set up for this story, the link is in my profile.**

**Chapter 4: Training and a Little Fun!**

"Harry, wake up."

Harry shoots to his feet, his wand at the ready while he takes in his surrounding. The events of last night start returning to him.

"Let's go, it's time to train." Moony says as he stands there waiting.

Harry follows him into a room and is surprised not to see a dueling arena. Instead the room is filled with weightlifting equipment and he shoots Moony a look.

"One of the most important things to remember is that while mental and magical strength are important, they don't count for shit if your body can't keep up. We're going to get you stronger, and get you better endurance. Start your warm up by running this room 16 times. That is one mile to the dot."

Harry takes off running and lets his body take over while his mind wanders. He thinks of the past few days, and he is mildly surprised when he counts off his 16th lap. He also notices that his legs are shaking, and he is gulping down air. Moony is standing there.

"Good. Now do as many pushups as you can."

Harry gets into the position and is surprised that after only 20 pushups he collapses to the ground. Moony is still there.

"Now do as many sit ups as you can."

Harry groans but rolls over and does as many as he can.

"35. Not bad for your first time, but you need practice."

He tosses Harry a water bottle.

"You have 3 minutes to rest up, and then we get to the real workout."

Harry is shocked at this. He can barely stop shaking, and this isn't the real workout?

Harry gulps the water down and by the three minutes his legs are steady and he can walk.

Moony leads him to a rack that has a bar racked across it, perfect for Harry's height.

"This is called a squat rack. Watch as I perform the squat, and noticed how the bar rests on my neck, and my hand placement."

Harry does this, and watches as Remus squats down, almost like he is preparing to sit before he stands back up.

"Your legs will always be the strongest part of your body, so you must learn to access their strength when doing things that don't involve them. Get on the squat rack; let me see how much you can do."

Harry performs this ten times before Moony places a huge looking weight on both sides of the bar.

"Do this if you can."

Harry squats down and goes to stand back up but finds he can't. He is forced to drop the bar after a few seconds of being stuck down at the bottom.

"How much do you weigh Harry?" Moony asks.

"65 kilo's."

"Okay. That weight was 61, so it will take you a couple tries to get use to it."

Moony leads him through a couple more weight exercises, and Harry struggles with every one of them.

"Don't be surprised Harry. It takes everyone a few days to get used to weightlifting seriously, and you haven't been fed enough protein to keep your strength up. We will fix that, and from now on you will be on a strict diet. It was a good first day and as a cool down I want you to sprint the length of this room and back twice."

Harry does as he asks and collapses on the last one just as he finishes.

Moony is laughing.

"I remember the first time I did this, I did the same thing. Come on, its time for lunch, and after that we learn some more potent spells."

Harry follows him into a bright room that is comfortably decorated, and finds a muggle refrigerator there. Moony opens it and brings back a place full of food's Harry has never seen before.

"This, my young friend, is called Sushi. I find it quite good, and it is healthy for you, containing almost no fat, and plenty of protein."

Harry tentatively tries a bite, and finds it is pretty good. He eats two rolls before asking about where they are.

"What is this place Moony?"

"Been wondering when you were going to ask that. When the first war broke out, we realized most wizards were dead worthless in a fight, and the ones who were could barely fight for two minutes before they collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. Me, Prongs, and Padfoot built this place. It's got a room that contains a bunch of beds, this kitchen, the workout room, and dueling area that doubles as a knowledge center. Got a bunch of the fighters up to speed before there were any real battles."

Harry nods, amazed three men could create such a large and intricate place.

"There are plenty of wards around it, and the best part is Albus has no idea it exists, so he won't come knocking. Now, lets go do some studying."

They walk into another room, and this has a bunch of training dummies, and a large rubber wall.

"You see that wall?'' Moony asks, and Harry nods.

"Any jinx, hex, or battle spell you cast will be rebounded back at you, including the unforgivables. Now, what defensive spells do you know?"

"Just Protego really" Harry replies.

"Okay, when I say so, I want you to cast every offensive spell you know at me."

Harry nods, and Moony mutters something under his breath.

"Okay, now."

Harry sends stunners, disarmers, and plenty of jinxes meant to make your feet move of their own accord, and even one jinx that forces your arms to disobey you. Not one of them goes through, and Moony stands there.

Finally, Harry has exhausted his knowledge of spells.

"That was somewhat decent, but you need better spells for going on the offensive. Now, have you noticed that no spell touched me?"

Harry nods.

"Good, that is because I cast a better shield. There are much more shields than just protego, and I cast the most effective shield I know. The incantation is 'Scutum Maximum' and it will block anything short of The Torture, and The Killing curses. I want you to cast it now."

"Scutum Maximum" Harry says clearly.

Moony tests to make sure it is up correctly by shooting a stunner at him, and when it doesn't hit him, he launches into a convoluted series of hexes and attacks. Finally the barrage is over.

"Good, your shield is plenty strong. Now we're going to work on your reflexes. I'm going to silently cast a hex, and you must shoot the shield up as you see it coming. But, you must wait until you see it coming you can not cast the shield before that."

All of a sudden, a spell is sent out of Moony's wand, travelling at a quick rate. Harry gets the shield up literally as the spell passes through, and it seems to block it.

"Good. Just remember you got lucky that was a weaker curse. If it had been quicker, the spell would have been passed through and hit you."

For the next few hours, Harry learns more offensive and defensive spells. All the offensive spells, Moony warns, will hurt, and if cast at the right spot on the body, kill.

"Now that the magic lesson is over, we must learn something the twins have down and are masters of. You must learn to use distractions to your advantage, and if there isn't a distraction around, you must create one."

Moony shows Harry how to toss dung bombs at a target accurately and hit it every time. He also shows him how to use fireworks to his advantage, and how to even use ear piercing whistles and bombs that when they go off shoot off a light so bright it leaves Harry blind for the next thirty seconds, even in the bright room they are in.

"Won't just turning around counter the effects of the light bomb?" He asks.

"No, and that's the most useful part. Even if you turn around, it will still get you. The easiest to get more of it out is to turn around, and bury your face in your arms. That will help it somewhat, but not fully" Moony replies.

"Now, one more thing before you go." He adds as Harry groans. "You can't always rely on your eyes, as I proved with that little trick. Sometimes your ears, and your instincts will need to guide you. Come here Harry."

Harry walks over, and Moony ties a blindfold around his eyes.

"This won't fall off, and it will reveal nothing to you. I will take it off in the morning. Until then, it must remain on."

Harry curses. He is completely blind with this thing covering his eyes. Although he is blind, he notices his ears are much more sensitive. He walks slowly, feeling his way slowly towards the door. Just when he reaches it, he hears a muttered 'stupefy.' Whipping his arm out, he turns towards the source of the sound.

"Scutum Maximum" And the curses is blocked.

"Good! Very good Harry. It took your father ten tries before he got that part down. For tonight, there will be no more attacks."

Harry turns and walks out, but he is smiling at the praise, and surprised he had turned fast enough to block it.

He walks slowly, feeling his way back into the bedroom where he crashes on the bed, exhausted. He falls asleep almost instantly, dreaming of a certain bushy haired witch.

The next month he spends doing the same routine and he learns to keep the blindfold on at all times. He actually finds the sensation pleasant, and he finds his hearing makes up for his lack of vision easily. He also learns plenty of new offensive spells that can kill instantly but are perfectly legal, and he finds that there are ways to kill someone just by casting a Bone Crusher spell at the victim's chest. He also gains his Marauder name "Bat." Moony names him this because even when he is blind, he can navigate the house at full speed without hitting anything, just like he is using echo location.

Moony also teaches him how to fight. He learns how to take out several opponents at once, and then he learns to take on one opponent for a prolonged fight. When he first arrived, 5 minutes of dueling tired him out. Now he finds he can go for an hour long doing nothing but dueling fairly easily.

Finally one month goes by, and Moony decides he is ready.

"We've been doing nothing but fighting, sparring, working out, and learning. I have to say, you are going to be a great dueler, and the best fighter there ever was. There's nothing more I can teach you, and its time to go."

Harry nods, and he is surprised to learn that in the five years he had been in Hogwarts, he hadn't truly learned anything for fighting. He also figured out Moony was correct on another point. Other wizards and witches were worth nothing in a fight, and if he wants to survive, he must train others the same way he was trained. But he decides not to teach everyone. This was a gift given to him by his family, and he will not waste it.

They floo back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Moony, do you mind getting my stuff and bringing it back here. You understand I don't quite want to face the Weasley's, and I want to pay the Twins a visit."

"Sure thing Bat."

Harry turns to the barkeep.

"Hey Tom, can I get a room for the next couple of nights?"

"Sure thing Harry" The bartender replies with a smile.

"Thanks mate."

"No probably Harry, it's good to see you again and out of trouble."

Harry laughs.

"Yeah, let's see if it lasts longer than a summer this time." Harry shoots back as he walks towards the door.

Tom laughs. He truly was glad to see Harry. It had been a while since the summer Harry spent at his pub, but he had taken a liking to the boy.

Harry traverses Diagon Alley and finds himself outside the twins shop, which is buzzing with activity.

He walks inside and the doorbell calls out.

"Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, if you plan on stealing something, we'll get you back."

Harry laughs, and he sees the twins mounting the registers.

"Fred! George!" He calls out and they look to him.

"Harry, what's up mate? Verity, run the register." They call as they motion towards the back door.

Harry follows them and is surprised to find stairs leading to a cozy flat above the house.

"How have you been Harry? Mums' been freaking out about your disappearance, and Dumbledore has been going ballistic." They ask.

"I've been doing some training, courtesy of The Marauders." He replies, and they shoot him an amazed look.

"Guys, we got a problem." Harry says.

"What's up?" They ask.

"During my training, I've come to realize most wizards are dead shit in a fight. I know you two are in the order. Can you give me any idea of what to expect from them?"

Fred and George exchange glances.

"Well… We can tell you a little bit. You know Tonks?" Harry nods. "She's great in a fight. When she's focused, she never trips, and she takes plenty of death nibblers out. Daedulus Giggle is decent, and can take one weaker nibbler on his own. Lupin can take them out by the boatload. Dumbledore can fight obviously, and that's about it besides from the ones who are in the auror's."

"Are you kidding me? That's it?" Harry asks, and they nod their heads.

"Shit."

"We whole-heartedly agree with that statement. That's why we left the order." They say.

"Alright. Shit. Okay, that's not good. Look, if you guys need anything, I'll be staying over in the Cauldron. Just asks Tom and he'll give you my room number."

"Thanks Harry." They say, and he is off.

What he has learned does not bode well. Dumbledore trusted them to save his back? Harry is starting to agree with Moony. He was being led to a slaughter. He gets back to the Leaky Cauldron and heads straight to his room where he sees Moony waiting.

"I take it the twins gave you some rather bad news?" He asks.

Harry nods. "They told me the fighting state of the order."

Moony winces.

"Yeah, we're pretty much on our own."

"Moony, I don't want to go back to the burrow right now. Can you think of any other place where I can stay?" Harry asks.

"Well, providing her parents say yes, maybe Hermione's house?"

Harry nods.

"Alright, can you ask them for me? I'm not that great at stuff like this, and I'll muck it up."

Moony laughs, knowing that is true.

"Sure thing Bat. Grab some sleep here, and we'll head over there tomorrow."

Harry heads to his room, but not before throwing on his blindfold and walking up there. He can hear dozens of conversations going on.

When he gets in he finds he is not tired, so he does 100 pushups and sit-ups before laying down and finally falling asleep.

He wakes up and finds it is still dark. He checks the time, and it is still 6 in the morning, but he is fresh so he conjures some eggs and orange juice and eats them. He has decided to stay on the diet as long as he lives.

He sits down and mentally reviews the spells he has learned in the past month, remembering their effects, incantations, and power usage.

It is another two hours before Moony knocks on the door.

"Let's go Bat; they've agreed to see us."

Harry follows him, and is surprised to find a muggle car waiting for them.

"I figured it would be easier than flooing." Moony says, and they are off.

It is only a ten minute ride before they arrive at a two story house that is significantly larger than the Dursley's, and also looks much more comfortable to live in. They knock on the door, and a taller man opens the door.

"Mr. Lupin and Mr. Potter?" He asks, and Remus nods.

"Please, come in."

They both walk inside to find Hermione and another woman who he assumes to be Mrs. Granger waiting for them. Immediately Harry is pulled into a hug by Hermione.

"Harry! Where have you been, what happened to you? What have you been doing? Are you okay?"

The questions are shot off so fast the he barely understands them.

"I'm fine Hermione. Can we talk somewhere private?" He asks, and Hermione nods.

"Moony, I'll explain everything to her."

"Sure thing, Bat." He replies as Harry follows Hermione upstairs into what must be her room, judging from all the books.

"Hermione, please. One question at a time." He asks, and she laughs.

"Okay, where have you been?" She asks.

"I've been training at a facility built by my parents."

"Okay… she says. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm better than ever."

"What happened?"

"I had to go to Gringotts for the execution of Sirius's will, and I discovered some things, and was told some things that kind of shook me. Moony decided I wasn't ready for any kind of fight, so he took me to an old facility used in the first war and trained me in how to fight, and we worked out so I could get stronger."

Now that Hermione looks at him, she notices that he has filled out completely. His arms are much larger and the muscles are bulging, but not huge. His chest has gotten wider and looks more firm, as does his stomach and legs.

"You look good." She says finally.

"Thanks." He says.

"What else happened? Oh I can't wait to tell Ginny and Ron you are back!"

"No!" Harry shouts. "No. Let me tell them, I need to see something." Hermione nods.

"Do you think your parents will let us go to the Burrow? I would prefer to get it over with."

Hermione nods.

"I've been going over there daily."

They walk down, and after briefly explaining to Moony what was going on, Moony let them go with the agreement of Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

"Just remember what I and Mad-Eye have taught you. Constant Vigilance, and remember your lessons."

Harry nods, and they are off.

"Ginny, Ron" He calls out, and they come running down the stairs, asking pretty much the same questions as Hermione. She notices that his answers are much more guarded than they were with her, and he doesn't answer as much as evade the question.

"Guys, I got some news. I've inherited 10 million galleons from Sirius."

Ginny and Ron are stunned. That sum is huge, and they doubt the Malfoy's have that much.

"I don't want it though. I'm donating it all to charities for orphanages and St. Mungo's."

Immediately Harry is being shouted at, and Ron refuses to talk to him. Both are yelling about how they "put up with his crap, and they deserve the money." It occurs to Hermione that this was the test, and they both failed miserably. Harry looks at her and nods, and they both turn around and floo back to Hermione's house where they find Remus waiting.

"How did it go Bat?" He asks.

"They both failed. Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie have proven themselves, but Ron and Ginny are a no go."

Moony nods, understanding.

"Alright. I've talked with Mr. and Mrs. Granger, and they agreed to let you stay. Unless you want to go back to Anvil and see if we can train any more."

Harry shakes his head.

"I'll stay. I want to bring Hermione up to speed."

Moony nods again.

"Alright Bat; I'll be at the Cauldron with Tom if you need me. Stay here until I come for you."

Harry nods.

"Thanks for all you have done Moony. I am finally prepared."

Without a word, Moony floos to the Cauldron, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.

"Come on Harry, you're bunking with me."

Harry follows her up to her room, and inspects it.

"Mind if I cast a few spells to alter it a little bit?" He asks.

"Go ahead. I want to see what you can do."

Harry takes out his spell and focuses before enlarging the room by 20 feet in either direction, and conjuring a bed, refrigerator, and small area with some workout equipment. When he is finally satisfied, he opens the refrigerator and conjures some of the sushi Moony showed him, and some eggs.

Finally the room is ready for him, and he has his own little space. Hermione is staring at him with her jaw on the floor.

"Harry, what you just did is NEWT level."

Harry shrugs.

"I've been practicing."

He says.

"Do you want to do anything today?" Hermione asks.

"Not particularly, I would rather teach you some spells."

Hermione brightens at this, and they begin their day of training for Hermione, with Harry teaching her. Things are looking good for the young wizard.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry for the long wait. I've been dealing with surprise surgery, school, family leaving, and a suicidal friend. All in all its been a long week, hopefully my update rate will be quicker.**

**Chapter 6: Letters and Discoveries**

Hermione could barely believe all she had learned in just three days. She had learned more offensive and defensive spells in three days than in all her five years of Hogwarts. She had also come to realize that Harry's assessment of normal wizard and witches were correct. They were, as he put it, "shit out of luck" when it came to a fight.

But now she was stronger, both magically and physically. Harry had put her on the strict training regiment he was on, and it occurred to her that she had been out of shape before this. She had watched as Harry did hundreds of what she could only do 20 of.

It also occurred to her how much bigger, and more comfortable with his body Harry had gotten. The first time they had worked out, he had taken off his shirt and worked in just shorts, and thought nothing of it. Normally he would never have done so, and when he did this she couldn't help but gasp. Scars ran up and down his back, obviously from a belt. She tried her best, but she could feel a few tears falling from her eyes at the careless abuse Harry had endured. He had started his workout, and she could see the muscles moving under the strain he placed on them while working out.

It's been three days since Harry and Hermione had visited the Burrow. Three days since Ron and Ginny had failed the test. If Hermione had not been there, she would have insisted that Harry go back and give them a second chance. But she had been there, and she had seen what they did. She had also come to realize that Harry had been testing the both of their loyalties, and they had both failed.

He had received a letter from them both, and as soon as he finished reading it, he had burst out laughing. Hermione took the letter from him, and noticed it was from Ron and Ginny.

"_Dear Harry. It's been a while since you visited the Burrow, and we know the reason. Don't worry; we aren't mad at you for being stupid. Come on over, and you can apologize. Then we can both go back to being friends._

_Sincerely,_

_Ron and Ginny."_

Her first reaction was to be angry. Then she saw the humor in the situation, and just started laughing, just as Harry had done. They both couldn't stop laughing, and they ended up on the floor, holding each other while laughing out loud.

Finally when they could both start breathing again, Hermione spoke up.

"You realize this will change a lot of things next year, between our new powers, and our friends. We should see if we can get some study time, instead of going to classes since we are obviously more advanced."

"I agree. Also, I want to talk to Dumbledore about continuing the DA in an official capacity."

"Agreed. We also need to find out who the new DADA teacher is."

"Why don't we just owl Dumbledore now and ask?" Harry suggests.

He gets a quill and paper and scratches out a quick letter, than sends Hedwig off.

"Now what do we do for the rest of the day?" Harry asks.

"Why don't we go for a walk?"

"Okay"

They walked out the door and just walked around, content with being near each other and holding each others hands. Harry was feeling better than he had in a long time.

**AN2: Sorry for the short chapter, I'm out on creativity. I'm also looking for a beta if anyone wants to volunteer. I will also be working on another story that will be out soon hopefully, it will be a Bella/Harry fic. Also, it will be much longer, but the update rate will be longer to compensate.**


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